Can you justify your last purchase?

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Can you justify your last purchase?

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Started 1 year ago by 365lessthings
Latest reply from anitamojito
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Rozzie
Member

Hmmm.
New Circuit Breaker - justified. Had one quit a couple of days ago.
Four new shop lights - justified. Basement lighting is over 50 years old. One caught fire this summer. I'll be gradually replacing them ALL for safety's sake. (Costs less to buy new shop lights than to replace the pieces that are most likely to catch fire...)
New Trash can - justified. I'm turning it into a homemade $10 tumbling composter instead of paying 15 times as much to buy one.
Wire Hardware Cloth & some galvanized sheet metal - needed for a project for my critters. Justified with no doubts.
Family Handyman's DIY Tips magazine pricey but justified. If I use ONE thing from it then it's worth it. (Flipped through and saw quite a few things that were of interest and quite inexpensive in terms of materials.)

Yup. Justified...

Posted 1 year ago #
365lessthings
Member

@Rozzie,
sounds like you have the home handy person thing down pat. I like the idea of making your own composter. I have been considering that myself of late. I think that DIY magazine is going to realize its worth very quickly.

Posted 1 year ago #
klutzgrrl
Member

Yes and no. I bought a couple of XBox games that I thought my son would also enjoy. I don't really have time for games (time clutter!) but they weren't new so not as expensive as if I'd bought new releases... still it added up to more than I should have spent.

On the upside, we bought a Mulberry Tree which is going to be absolutely beautiful in a few years, and some spinach and cucumber seedlings.

Posted 1 year ago #
Rozzie
Member

ROFL 365. I am so far from a home handyman that it is unbelievable. However, there are some things that need done here and it's either do it myself or pay a small fortune for someone else to do it. The extent of electrical stuff that I'm doing would cost more than a small fortune. And, there is no guarantee it would be done correctly. We had some work that we required be done as a condition of purchase. The electrician even managed to jack that up - we didn't catch the fact that a dozen outlets weren't working at all when we did our final walkthrough. They worked before the electrician got his hands on things. Hence the old adage, "If you want something done right, do it yourself."

The magazine had a number of interesting storage possibilities, several of which are based on PVC pipe. Obviously, I'd only use these for things I needed to keep anyway. ;)

I'm going the lazy man's route on the composter: Black trash can, drill holes in it, bungee cord down the lid, and roll it around the yard to mix. Make sure things don't clump up and stay in one spot, though. At $10 per garbage can & a couple of bucks for a bungee cords, I can have six of these if I want to. :)

Posted 1 year ago #
pkilmain
Member

When we were installing our kitchen cabinets back in the dark ages (1983), instead of an empty space covered by a matching board to make the cabinets fit the wall, we put PVC pipes in that space (then the countertop over the whole thing). There are 6 of them vertically, and each one holds two bottles of wine (horizontally) perfectly. We get lots of compliments on our built-in wine rack. :) Cost us zilch since the pipe was left over from the house building.

Posted 1 year ago #
jbeany
Member

Yes for my last one. When I moved, I bought 2 month's time on the little local wifi network. It's run by a couple of really nice guys. Unfortunately, they are expanding their customer list faster than their tech gear. The network is a mass of trouble spots, and there were hours at a time I couldn't log on, frequent times I got bumped off, and I could very rarely watch any video - not enough band width. Incredibly frustrating, especially when I'm actually trying to log in for course work with due dates.
So I spend $90 on a contract for wireless broadband through my cell phone company yesterday. 15 minutes to log in and upload software, and TaDa - perfectly working internet. Twice the price of the local company per month, but then again, a bargain that doesn't work when you need it most is no bargain at all.

Posted 1 year ago #
365lessthings
Member

My last purchase was groceries. Justified.
The one before that was groceries. Justified.
The one before that was a tank of gas. Justified.
The one before that was morning tea with a friend. Although an extravagance I didn't bring anything home to clutter my house with and we both had a nice time together. Justified.

Posted 1 year ago #
Another Deb
Member

My last purchase was antivirus software for the laptop. COnsidering that the previous setup did not protect the computer, and I lost the use of it for a long time, I am calling this a justified purchase.

Ouch, it even hurts to vaccinate a computer....

Posted 1 year ago #
mdfloyd
Member

Yesterday I paid my first visit to IKEA. Spent $29 for a handheld grater, 6 glasses, 7 dishtowels, a colander, and 6 tiny little glass bowls.

Yes, I could have done without all of them, but they were also justified because I needed them to supplement or replace things. Except the 6 tiny little glass bowls, which I just fell in love with; I will use them when I'm cooking to hold the tiny amounts of herbs or other ingredients that need to be added at certain times during preparation.

I am very proud of myself -- I spent hours in IKEA, looking at everything. I don't know how many items I put in my cart, stopped and considered where I would put them when I got home or if I really needed them, and then put them back.

Posted 1 year ago #
SunshineR
Member

mdfloyd: what an accomplishment...IKEA is a tempting place to shop. WTG!

Posted 1 year ago #
bandicoot
Member

ok, i went shopping in brisbane .
i have finally found some gorgeous, plus sized, packable crushable layerable mix-and-matchable easy-care drip-dry flattering did i say GORGEOUS clothes.
i bought 12 pieces (red, black, white, gray) and i now have a complete travel wardrobe that packs into a carry-on bag and will be fine for a month or more.
i can justify this purchase on every level. i have been looking for a looooong time. and making-do with ratty t-shirts and yoga pants for more years than i care to think about!

if anyone is interested: http://www.ts14plus.com.au/

Posted 1 year ago #
susanintexas
Member

bandicoot -- WOW! love the clothes.

Posted 1 year ago #
365lessthings
Member

@ bandicoot - Even I wouldn't have trouble justifying that purchase. There is nothing more important when it comes to travel than to be able to do it for an extended period of time with only 1 small piece of carry-on luggage.

Posted 1 year ago #
bandicoot
Member

i am sitting in an airport right now, clad head to toe in this stuff and feeling great.
i handwashed it all at 1am this morning and after a very rainy morning it was all dry by 2pm.
i checked a small bag full of gifts of soap and wine and my wardrobe is in my small back pack, stuffed into nylon stuff bags according to type.
i want to wear the stuff all the time. i've never had clothes like this before.

Posted 1 year ago #
irishbell
Member

bandicoot- that stuff is GORGEOUS!!! And looks so totally comfortable.

Posted 1 year ago #
DianeD
Member

yes, i can! just last night i bought a foot massager for my aching feet. it was $38 with a coupon so i even saved money. it's cheaper than getting professional massages and now i can relax my feet every night. i just started a new career as a chef so i went from sitting all day to standing all day. that's been quite the adjustment. mt feet don't like me right now. ha!

BUT i am considering getting a new (used) car. i'll take any advice on that. i have the money, but just wondering if it's a good use of it. my current car won't last much longer without getting pricey repairs, but i still considered keeping it until it died and THEN getting a used car. the advantage now is that i know the owner of the car i'm looking at. thoughts? links to other car discussing posts?

Posted 1 year ago #
Rozzie
Member

Shuddering as I think of today's things:

Garden cart...check. Needed BADLY. Already used it today for two things. It will see use on an almost daily basis (moving plants, feed bags, bales of hay, firewood, etc.) I have a bad back. Anything that helps it is justified.

Kill-o-Watt (or whatever it's called). Possibly justified. Hoping I will find the "energy hog" appliances I have. Actually, it seems that it may justify itself in another way. You hear so often to replace your "old energy sucking" refrigerator with a new "energy efficient" one and that you'll save money within the first year or two. Uh, doesn't appear to be the case. My old $30 refrigerator seems to use VERY LITTLE electricity. This may have saved me from a VERY expensive purchase.

Food for critters. Bedding for critters. Justified.

Thermometer - Needed in the aviary.

Book - Nonfiction reference on household repairs. Probably justified due to the electrical section as I'm in the midst of a major electrical project.

Roll of fencing - needed. Justified.

However, the three items I bought at the thrift store last week were NOT justified. They are still in the bag. Whoops. At least it is only $4 worth.

Posted 1 year ago #
ErinMarie
Member

The last thing I bought that was not an edible was an electric kettle two fridays ago. I bought it for my friend, though, as he loves tea and had been using his microwave to little effect. So... not neccessary, but I feel it was worthwhile.

I did buy a package of skittles today that I certainly didn't need, though!

And I'm about to go out this evening to get a new pair of pants, some foundation and maybe some underwear. Can you tell I've got a hot date tomorrow ;)?

In all seriousness, I've lost so much weight only one pair of pants fit me. I need at least one more to get through a week without doing laundry. My face is all broken out from the stress of this semester in college and I flat out refuse to go on a date without at least some basic makeup. If I don't make the effort, why should he, you know? ...And the underwear would be total fluff, designed to make me feel sexy which is where the 'maybe' comes from.

Posted 1 year ago #
djk
Member

Good luck on the hot date ErinMarie!

last non-edible I bought was a canvas bottle bag for shopping. Justified? yes, as the one I already have is maxed out (we walk to the shops and have heavy things banging and tearing our bags. So while it is made for wine bottles probably it will keep the jar of pickles from smashing against the olive oil, for example. it will also keep a baguette straight up and not threatening to fall out or get mercilessly crushed.

And it was 1 euro, it folds up small to go into my bag, and I like it!

Posted 1 year ago #
irishbell
Member

Bought a Kindle this a.m. Justified? Absolutely. I love reading, I can afford a book every now and then, barely will take up any room at all.
Now, I need patience til it's delivered.....

Posted 1 year ago #

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